Losing the Lectures, Tablets vs. Textbooks & More

Busy week? We’re here to help. Here’s our roundup of top educational stories from the past seven days:

• “Education is less about covering a curriculum than about discovering ideas.” Valerie Strauss makes the case against letting lectures dominate class structure via the Washington Post.

• Are tablets better than textbooks in education? Though there are still challenges to face in edtech, the benefits make it worth embracing.

• “A student who understands what it means to own their learning has an internal drive to get things done. Our students are changing their habits and their attitudes.” A school district in Wilder, Idaho is making personalized learning a reality.

• Bryce Welker examines how adaptive learning technology is transforming the classroom and traditional teaching methods.

• EdSurge shares how five educators have adapted their original approach to blended learning to find ever better ways to differentiate instruction, promote student agency, and create a more flexible learning environment.

• Sergey Grybniak participated in Startup Weekend EDU New York and addressed five current issues that hinder the growth of edtech in the US.

• Education Week takes a look at how the popularity of personalized learning far outpaces its evidence base, which may result in big challenges and modest gains.